A man who dedicated his life to social justice activism was stabbed to death by a stranger on a New York street after attending a wedding with his girlfriend.
Ryan Carson, 32, was stabbed multiple times near a bus stop at Malcolm X Boulevard and Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn, at about 4am on Monday. Local outlets reported that Carson was waiting for the bus after returning from a wedding on Long Island with his girlfriend.
Surveillance footage showed the suspect walking past Carson and his girlfriend, who were sitting on a bench. Moments later, video showed Carson and his girlfriend walking in the same direction as the suspect.
The suspect, who was wearing a dark jacket with a hood, appeared to suddenly start kicking and pushing over a parked scooter.
The suspect then asked the couple what they were looking at, the New York Daily News reported.
The suspect, police said, started to walk towards the couple, who had stopped. Surveillance footage showed the suspect acting aggressively towards Carson, who appeared to push the suspect in the chest. The suspect then appeared to punch Carson, who began to walk backwards, trying to fend the suspect off.
Police said the man stabbed Carson multiple times in the chest. Video surveillance footage showed the suspect then appearing to act aggressively towards Carson’s girlfriend, as Carson lay on the ground. The suspect appeared to attempt to lunge with what seemed to be a knife in his hand before fleeing the scene.
Gothamist reported that the suspect escaped east on Van Buren Street. Carson was taken to Kings County hospital but could not be saved.
On Tuesday, police tweeted a photo of the man and urged anyone with information to alert them. They later arrested 18-year-old Brian Dowling in connection with Carson’s killing.
A photo posted online showed Carson and his girlfriend smiling earlier that day in front of a wall of flowers at what appeared to be the wedding venue.
Carson worked for more than a decade with the New York Public Interest Research Group, the student-directed, non-partisan public education organization said.
It said: “Ryan got his start with NYPIRG as a student at Pratt Institute and then represented the chapter on NYPIRG’s student board of directors.
“He went on to hold a variety of positions over his decade of service, most recently as senior solid waste campaign manager, leading our statewide campaign to expand and modernize the state’s bottle deposit law.”
The group called Carson a “beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment”.
The New York mayor, Eric Adams, said Carson “turned his passion into purpose” and made his “giving spirit” a “buoy to all”.
“His murder is unthinkable, and the NYPD won’t rest until we bring him to justice,” Adams said.
The New York senator Chuck Schumer also mourned Carson, tweeting: “Ryan Carson threw himself into everything he did with passion and humanity.”
Schumer said he worked with Carson on a town hall, and regarding the Inflation Reduction Act. Calling Carson a “rising talent and an extraordinary activist”, Schumer said: “May his memory and work inspire us.”
Carson created the advocacy organization No OD NY, to fight the drug overdose crisis, said the state assembly member Emily Gallagher, who called Carson her “dear friend”.
“I met Ryan many years ago through the DIY punk scene and he has been a trusted friend in Albany and at home. I miss him,” she wrote.
In 2021, Carson walked more than 150 miles from New York to Albany to raise awareness for overdose prevention centers and harm reduction resources, Gothamist reported.
Gallagher told the same outlet she was looking forward to seeing Carson this weekend, at his birthday party.
“I was so looking forward to seeing him on Saturday. It’s pretty messed up that now I’m probably going to see him at a funeral instead,” she said.
